A world of memories
by slashyprdctn
Summary: This was something that I had to write for summer school this year so basically it's my first time writing something like this.It's basically just a behind the scene of when Montag was floating down the river in his point of view.Hope you enjoy it


A world of memories 

As I float downstream in the cold river, trying to separate myself from the world, I – again, for the first time in years – was able to think. My mind has been like a garbled fog throughout the years, never questioning the existence of the people around me or my own, but as time passed by my mind began to wander. All of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, all of the memories and all of the regrets I have had in my life scattered across my mind. It was as if I was hallucinating. Images of my past kept appearing in front of me as if they were real. I was entangled in my own thoughts like I was in another world and even if it wasn't real I felt as if my body was being lifted and that I was standing on nothing but a white surface circulated in my own memories.

A bright light flashed through my mind and before I knew it I was standing next to Clarisse, talking to her, just like back then. It was just me and her. It felt like a dream. It felt as if timed has reversed itself, like I was given a second chance to make all this right. After a while, she began to scatter. The memories I had of her began to disperse and the last thing I saw from her was a smile. For a few moments a stood there in the cold dreadful silence, all alone in isolation. Then, I heard a clattering of pills being poured out and immediately I recognized who it was. It was Mildred. The single memory I had of Mildred left was her chugging handfuls of pills down her throat. I called out to her, but she didn't give a response. I called her again but even louder this time and again, just like before, no response. I ran to her hoping to be able to get her attention, but the more I run the farther away she becomes and soon, just like Clarisse, she dispersed into nothingness.

I began to grow angry so I screamed like a wild beast until I couldn't scream no more and through that entire effort one last image circulated my mind. In front of me was a pile of books burning brightly in a raging fire at a temperature of 451 Fahrenheit. The flames spewed out ashes that landed right onto me. I could feel the ashes burning through my skin and the heat of the flames that swept through me. In the back of me was a group of people screaming and yelling after me, want to kill me. They were like a pack of hungry lions chasing after meat that they can satisfy themselves with and I was the meat, but in reality, through my eyes, they were nothing more than mere puppets. Each of them, looking differently on the outside, was no more than one person on the inside. They didn't care who I was, they just did whatever they were told to do; obeying their master's orders blindly, never questioning his reasons.

I was caught between the past and the present. I don't know how and I don't know why but the hallucination had become real. I could hear everything that the people were saying; I could feel the intense flames that burn through my very skin. Everything felt real to me and in the midst of it all I realized that this is the path that I've chosen for myself and that I have to face it till the end no matter how painful or hard the road may be. This is the beginning of my new life. This is my second chance to start over.

Everything flashed right in front of my eyes. The light blinded me for a moment but in that moment a voice spoke out. I didn't recognize the voice but what it said had filled me up with curiosity. The light faded and all the memories and all the pain melted away with nothing left but a black void. The hallucination has ended and all those memories of the past are locked deeply away from my reach.

I opened my eyes a few moments later noticing that the river current has swept me to the rocky shore. I stood up and began walking to safety. The longer I walked, I felt like I was getting nowhere. It was as if I had been trapped in a world of seclusion. Having the gentle breeze sweeping by me, comforting me, I realized that I had been dreaming all my life and that I, too, had also been a puppet, bound endlessly to the thread of despair that brought forth my existence in life and until those threads can be cut off I have to create a new thread. One where there will be a time when people and books can flourish. When the ashes that have fallen have turned into snow and that snow has melted into spring that will be a day when the world will wake up from its burning slumber.


End file.
